How are Methamphetamines Used?

How are methamphetamines used? That is a question that many want to know, especially parents or individuals that are just curious so they can look for the warning signs that their teen or loved one might doing meth to get high. Keep reading to find out more.

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How are Methamphetamines used? There are a few different ways that meth users can inject, inhale or smoke the drug. Unfortunately, according to methamphetamine statistics, meth is becoming one of the most used illegal drugs in the country, contributing to hundreds of thousands of individuals becoming addicted to the drug. Thousands of drug overdoses each year can be attributed to the use of methamphetamines. However, individuals, teens and adults continue to use the drug to get high. Methamphetamine is a powerful drug that directly affects the central nervous system. It works with both the brain and the spinal cord to interfere with normal neurotransmission. That is why so many regular meth users begin experiencing delays in development, speech and brain function. Other negative consequences can result from the damage that doing meth can do to a person's brain including damage to the brain that can cause problems with your sense of touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing.

There are a couple of different ways that methamphetamines are used including being smoked with drug paraphernalia, taken through the nose (snorted) injected into a vein or ingested orally. Some practices of using meth including eating the drug by putting it on paper or food and chewing it. Many of the ways that methamphetamines are used contribute to the types of side effects that can result from meth use. For example, those that frequently eat or smoke meth might develop the side effect known as "meth mouth." This occurs when the drug user's teeth begin to rot due to the chemicals and harmful ingredients that are in the meth concoction.

Many drug users choose to use methamphetamines in different ways based on the kind of high they want to experience. Some drug users will also have a preference on the way they do the drug based on the side effects that can result from the drug administration. They might also choose to do the meth in varying ways dependent upon what resources they have available to them at the time they wish to get high.

Once the drug user does the meth, he or she will experience the effects of the stimulant on the central nervous system. They might experience the effects lasting from a few hours to a full day, depending on the dosage. Meth can affect a person's behavior, mood and their fundamental brain development over a long period of time. Many overdoses, or those who use the drug for a long period of time can die as a result of heart failure, brain damage or stroke based on the damage to the central nervous system.

Short-term effects of the drug include euphoria, paranoia, anxiety, decreased appetite as well as increased physical activity. The central nervous system is damaged each time the drug is administered to the individual. That is why so many drug users become addicted to the drug and face long-term consequences for their actions. Sometimes short-term effects can result in dire or even deadly consequences as well including convulsions and hypothermia.

It is important to realize that regardless of how the methamphetamines are used, the drug addict or drug user can still die from low amounts of the drug if the right toxicity level is reached with the combination of ingredients from the drug and the internal part of the body. Even small amounts can poison the individual leading to death.

Most drug addicts that are addicted to meth often require professional drug rehabilitation to get help with their drug addiction. Even then, relapses can occur, which is why it is so important for the addict or former addict to continue attending therapy and support groups to help stay strong in their recovery.